Philippine Airlines Guam-Cebu route to start Dec. 16, met with cautious optimism
BY SKYLER OBISPO
Journal Staff
The direct Guam–Cebu flight will launch on Dec. 16, according to Justin Warby, vice president of sales and distribution for Philippine Airlines.
Warby and other senior Philippine Airlines officials met with reporters on Nov. 21 at a media roundtable at the Hyatt Regency Guam.
Philippine Airlines will begin flying three times a week between Guam and Cebu starting Dec. 16. Photo by Skyler Obispo
The service will operate three times a week, with flights from Guam to Cebu on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and return flights arriving on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
The route will use a retrofitted Airbus A321ceo which already flies Philippine Airlines Manila-Guam route. The retrofit can seat roughly 176 economy class passengers and 12 business class passengers along with a new in-flight entertainment system among other amenities.
The first A321ceo was retrofitted in September, with two more currently in the process, Warby said.
Warby said the route is intended to better connect Guam and the Philippines, given Guam’s large Filipino community.
“The diaspora of Filipinos here in Guam makes the route fundamental for us,” he said. “But there’s also other segments. We’ve got workers who are traveling between, we’ve got people just going on leisure holidays, we’ve even got medical tourism.”
He said the route also opens access to Guam for travelers connecting from other points in Philippine Airlines’ network, including Australia, China, and Korea, and gives Guam residents easier access to the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
WarbyWarby said Asia-Pacific travel was the slowest to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic but has since rebounded. One hurdle for Philippine nationals traveling to Guam is obtaining U.S. travel visas.
On Feb. 6, Sen. Eulogio Shawn Gumataotao wrote to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requesting that the Philippines be added to the Guam–Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program.
He said that the country would play an important part in the island’s broader tourism recovery plan.
According to recent data from the Guam Visitors Bureau, the Philippines is the island's fourth largest tourism market, behind the U.S., Japan, and Korea.
Noem responded that Homeland Security will continue evaluating how the Guam–CNMI visa waiver program aligns with the administration’s border security and immigration priorities.
Philippine Airlines views the new route with cautious optimism.
“We’re excited, but we’re also cautious that we need to make commercial decisions on how the route goes,” Warby said.
The route could expand to five weekly flights or even daily service if demand grows.
The airline noted similar growth on its Manila–Da Nang route, which expanded from three weekly flights to daily service in July.
Travel between Guam and Asia is expected to increase during the holiday season, and Philippine Airlines hopes to sustain that momentum.
“Bookings are building, particularly for the big season in December and January, where a lot of the Filipino diaspora want to come home to the Philippines and see loved ones,” Warby said.
The airline is offering an introductory rate starting at $379 for a roundtrip economy fare until Nov. 30 for December and January travel between Guam and Manila or Guam and Cebu.
Officials could not confirm whether Philippine Airlines will participate in the $10 million in flight incentives budgeted by GVB this fiscal year. mbj
The Chosun Ilbo, or Chosun Daily, has published coverage on what it said is the declining appeal of Guam and Saipan to Korean travelers. The Chosun coverage was in a Nov. 21 editorial and an updated story on Nov. 22. That story has been carried by other media.
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